SENATE HOPEFUL JIMMY HLOPHE SURPRISED BY COPS’ PROBE

MBABANE - “I was also taken by surprise when police officers started investigating me.” This was a statement made by Senate hopeful Jimmy Hlophe who added though that after learning of the whole process, he understood the police conduct.
He mentioned, however, that the police did not seek any information from his family, unlike in Sifiso Mabuza’s case, who is another candidate.

He had been asked if he was also visited by the police and if it was in the same manner as fellow senate Mabuza.  Hlophe has learnt by surprise that joining a Senate race requires a proper vetting of candidates. In an interview yesterday, Hlophe said he was taken by surprise when police officers investigated him after he was nominated for the Senate seat. According to Hlophe, the officers of the law called bucopho and indvuna yenkhundla of the area and inquired about his lifestyle.

Investigation

Hlophe stated that the police officers further engaged the general public and inquired about his life. He said the investigation surprised him so much, that he called the police officer and asked if he had done anything wrong.
“The police officers explained that vetting of candidates was a standard requirement for any person who desired to get into a public office. It was then that I understood the essence of vetting since I had no experience,” he said. Hlophe stated that knowing his character and standing in society, he was open to any inquiry. He said he did not have any problem even if the officers of the law were to interview his teacher, pastor and children about his life. Asked if the police officers entered his homestead during the course of their investigation, Hlophe responded to the negative. He stated that the officers of the law only interviewed the general public. Hlophe is competing with businessman Sifiso Mabuza of Hosea, Bongani Matsebula, Mhlume-based businessman after the pulling out of Ngomyayona Gamedze for the filling of a vacant position after the demise of Senator Mike Temple.  Gamedze made startling allegations about the demand of cash in exchange for votes. However, the veracity of the allegations have not yet been tested anywhere.

Recently, the Mabuza family was also taken by surprise when police officers visited Sifiso Mabuza’s properties at Mvutjini and Ebuka in Ezulwini in what was believed to be the vetting exercise. This came after the postponement of the Senate elections. The postponement came after the Royal Eswatini Police Service informed the presiding officer, Ndvuna Dlamini, that they were not done with their investigations.
However, the matter took another twist when the police, who were reluctant to disclose any information about their investigation, claimed that their visit to Mabuza’s properties had nothing to do with the vetting process.

Surprise

The statement took the family by surprise since they were not aware of any case against Sifiso. This, they said, was because Sifiso was cleared by the police and Eswatini Revenue Authority. Matsebula, who is also in the Senate race, was also sought for comment yesterday.  He was asked if the officers of the law investigated him in the same manner in which they investigated the other candidates. However, he requested not to comment. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati was asked how far the police had gone with their vetting investigations. She was also asked if the police had submitted the report to the presiding officer after requesting for some time to conclude their investigations.

In response, she stated that investigations were ongoing. She said they were optimistic that the report would be submitted on time. Worth noting is that the Senate elections are scheduled for tomorrow.
The presiding officer, Dlamini, did not respond when sought for comment for the better part of yesterday. The last call was made at 7:45pm.

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